PRESS RELEASE AUGUST 17, 2026 Myanmar junta deepening ties with Russia as major software contract awarded to sanctioned group The US and Canadian sanctioned Russian entity Astra Group has been contracted by the Myanmar junta to build a National Single Window, an online system that would process all of Myanmar's import and export paperwork through a single portal. The portal would link the ministries and agencies that license and clear trade and are illegally under junta control. The Single Window is being backed by the Russian regime through its Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Economic Development, and through its embassy and trade mission in Myanmar. According to Astra Group's press release, the platform is designed so that "new state digital services" can be rolled out on the same architecture in the future. This poses the risk that Astra Group may end up playing a much bigger role in the junta’s digital dictatorship beyond the Single Window. The system would likely process sensitive personal data, such as the identity card and passport copies and bank statements that Myanmar's trade licensing rules require importers and exporters to submit, so there may also be a risk of Russian access to that data. The contract was signed by the junta customs department in Naypyidaw on August 12 with the Myanmar branch of Astra Consulting LLC, part of Astra Group, in partnership with a Myanmar company, Fortitech Company Limited, and "Garuda Solution”. Astra Group's first deputy chief executive officer, Nikolay Pryanishnikov, was present in Myanmar for the signing, according to his social media account. Astra Consulting registered a branch office in Myanmar in June 2026, ahead of the contract signing, the Myanmar and Russian company registries show. Astra Group is a software company with close ties to the Russian military and intelligence apparatus. It is known for the Astra Linux operating system, which it presented to the military junta during a high-level visit to Myanmar earlier this year. Astra Group’s own marketing materials name the Russian Ministry of Defence and the Federal Security Service (FSB) among its key clients, alongside the state space corporation 1